Lifestyle and personal development blog that encourages you to speak your truth.

Taste of the Cape {Review}

August 30, 2019

“Nothing good ever happens in East London” this is an example of some of the untrue sentiments some people share about our lovely city. Which is why whenever there is an event that disproves this notion I am so there for it. The fact there was wine and gin there helped a little, that’s my story and I am sticking to it.

The ads said “join us on a journey into taste and flavour, expect wine, craft drink tastings, tapas style food stalls and live music”. If you know me well enough you know they had me at hello (“expect wine”). Before I continue with my review dear readers I want to tell you what witchcraft is. It is looking forward to the taste of the cape and its precursor. A blind wine tasting event and then falling ill. The opposite of witchcraft is healing just in time for the last day of the taste of the cape event.

The vibe

Honestly East London came all out. I saw some friends who were not necessarily wine drinkers but were there to enjoy something different and learn more about wine and have fun. It was a nice mix of different age groups and so the event makers should be proud they had a diverse audience. The live band set an awesome mood if you felt like sitting down whilst having your meal and chatting to friends.

“Wine is bottled poetry “

The wines

With over twenty wineries a girl was spoilt for choice. Some that stood out for me were Simonsig, Somerbosch, Beyerskloof and Ken Forrester. At events like these I enjoy trying out new wines that I am not familiar with. Hence I tried out Balei wines whom are found in Riversdale. I tried out their Tempranillo which I found quite heavy with hints of coffee and chocolate favours my kind of wine. Next was Blacksmith wines which turns out is owned by a former East Londoner who went to Selborne. His naturally handcrafted wines are made in small limited batches and he mostly exports to the United Kingdom, Japan and Switzerland.

“People who love to eat are the best of people “

The food

There was a tapas menu, you could build your own wrap, and there was even a sushi bar. I even saw a stall that had Oysters that was sold out quite early in the event. similarly was one stall which sold cheese boards, with all the trimmings, salami, biltong, preserves etc. perfect for a wine tasting. I liked that there was a little of everything but what was also needed was a chocolate stall it’s great for pairing purposes.

Craft Gins, beers and Whisky

If wine wasn’t really your thing the event organisers had you covered. I saw some craft beer stalls and honestly I haven’t gathered enough courage to go on that bitter side of my palate. There was a Courvoisier stall and Glenmorangie. My friend being more of a gin drinker dragged me (play along dear reader) to some gin stalls. The stand out stall was that of Kaapse liqueurs owned by Carol Mills. Who started her business in 2012 her Buchu gin was great but what I loved were her flavoured liqueurs, which she suggested we have as shots in chocolate.

Yay or Nay

Definitely a yay.Shout out to the event organisers Karen Carter and Mark Weighan for a superb event. I hope that they do another event like this . In addition I would make it dedicated days or go for a different taste. What I mean is one day go for beer tasting, another gin another whisky. For that though they will need to bring in more of the other distilleries. It’s quite hard tasting all in the same day hence I stayed away from the whisky. After tasting most of the wines and gin I found a stand out that I called mother’s milk. It was the Pierre Jourdan Belle Nectar Demi-sec rose. With my birthday coming up feel free to buy your girl a case. Were you there at the event? what were some of your thoughts be sure to let me know in the comments section.

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About the author

Molweni my name is Sandisiwe, welcome to my blog. I am a writer at heart with a taste for the finer things in life, but I enjoy being an independent soul who walks to her own beat. So by day I work in HR and by night I am a blogger.

I want to share my love of food, girl’s nights and some of my personal stories. So step into my place and let’s have some fun.